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OPINION

Opinion: Tom Green County residents can't afford to pay more taxes

Greg Mauz, Contributed opinion
Published 4:00 p.m. CT Aug. 22, 2018

Renaming freeholders commissioners won't help reduce property taxes or solve any of New Jersey's other problems.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Here we go again. For the third time in four years, Tom Green County is raising property taxes. This is in addition to the annual increases in tax money taken from rising property value appraisals that benefit the county, city and schools.

Property tax increases are out of control. At the County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, several residents expressed fear of losing their homes. Across Texas thousands of people are booted from their homes because they cannot afford the exorbitant taxes. About 100 families lose their properties every year in Tom Green County alone. Another meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23.

Since 2008, the taxes on my home in Christoval have doubled. There are worse increase stories in San Angelo. An average $200,000 home costs over $5,000 in property taxes, plus $2,000 for home insurance. That’s in addition to mortgage, car, electric, food, water, sewer, garbage, phone, cable and other bills.

And what services or representation do we receive for our sky high taxes? Almost nothing. Unbeknownst to us and most of our neighbors, we bought homes on private roads. Our neighborhood collectively pays over $100,000 a year to the county, yet the county refuses to pave our few roads or even repair the many potholes. Our commissioner expects us to conjure up over $500,000 to pay to pave the roads. Afterward, we can give the roads to the county along with $100,000 to cover any maintenance for two years. I told him that was the most absurd nonsense I had ever heard!

Then there’s Christoval Independent School District — a voracious money pit that is never satisfied. Taxes increase every year, including an increase of about $175 this year. Nobody from our family has ever attended CISD. Yet we pay just as much money in taxes as our neighbors with two-three children in school. Shouldn’t we pay less?

Every couple years (plus twice for 2018) CISD and SAISD try to coerce we the overtaxed people into approving another school bond issue that will cost on average about $500 more annually for 30 years. What part of “We cannot afford to pay more taxes” are y’all not getting?

The average salary in Tom Green County is about $34,000. Even at $50,000, charging $5,000 (plus $2,000 insurance) on a $200,000 residence is beyond unethical, especially since the state and sometimes local governments have given billions in corporate welfare to the super-rich.

Despite record profits and big federal income tax reductions, many billionaire corporations pay NO taxes, including General Electric, Verizon, Caterpillar and Amazon — owned by the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos. This is akin to economic treason. The super-rich and their corporations use our roads, bridges, airports, schools and many other government services. They need to pay. A tiny percentage of revenue from sources like these would solve most of our money problems.

I have been working with the Texas Legislature since 2007 as an activist for the people. I do not get paid. Besides giving our money to the super-rich, violating women’s reproductive rights and oppressing the poor, they finally increased the homestead exemption to $25,000. Republican Florida did that over 30 years ago, along with a 3 percent cap on assessed (appraisal) value increases! Texas maintains an unreasonable 10 percent cap, which can double your taxes in a mere 7½ years.

We the people need and must demand serious property tax reform from Gov. Greg Abbott and the legislature.

Since pay raises for us poor/middle class workers almost never exceed 3 percent, everything should be capped at 3 percent increases. Lower the 10 percent cap on assessed value increases to 3 percent. Lower the 8 percent cap on local tax rate increases to 3 percent. Notice this still allows increases, but at a more affordable rate. Home insurance increases and electric rate increases should also be capped at 3 percent.

Record amounts of oil are being pumped in Texas for over two years running. This means record amounts of oil severance money flowing into the Rainy Day Fund. Tap it for $2-3 billion to help restore money you owe back to our schools. Create a school tax for corporations.

School tax should be a set rate like $1,500 for value of $200,000. Families with schoolkids should pay maybe $800 extra per student. So with two children in the school system, the tax bill would be $3,100 total. And the state needs to go back to funding 65 percent of the bill before local property taxes raise the other 35 percent of the money.

The state needs to stop giving local governments unfunded mandates. We cannot afford your murder trials — especially the millions required to seek the death penalty. Plea bargain.

Find new revenue sources. How about a government/corporate fund to pay for new school construction in rural areas with low population tax bases, like Christoval. Again, we CANNOT afford a $12 million-plus bond. But there are over 500 billionaires who could easily write a check, like the Butt family that owns H-E-B. Do it for the children.

In Jesus’ name, we need serious help.

Greg Mauz is a political activist from Christoval. Contact him at 325-896-2595.